19 years gone: Mother of slain high school student still holds out hope for justice

ST. LOUIS – Tuesday marks 19 years since Cara Davenport was murdered in St. Louis. And to this day, no justice has been served.

Each year on March 26, Cara’s mother, Sharon Webb, visits Calvary Cemetery where she is buried. she cleans and decorates it. She also prays for justice in her daughter’s death.

“It is really difficult (to keep hope alive) after 19 years but I always promised my girls that if anything happened that I would fight until my last breath,” Webb said.

Cara was 18 and a senior at Hazelwood West High School when she was shot in a car. Police said she was not the intended target. They said two people ran up to the car and started shooting. Cara was shot in the head and died.

Webb said there hasn’t been any activity in the case over the years.

“But that don’t deter me,” she said.

Webb said she talks with St. Louis County Police Chief John Belmar. The case remains open—but on the backburner—until investigators catch a lead.

Webb said she always talks to Cara, especially on this anniversary day, but added that it never gets any easier.

“The happiness that was here before is gone. You learn to move on but the happiness is not there anymore,” she said.

Webb said she’ll never forget how Cara's smile would light up a room, how vibrant she was, and what a great dancer she proved to be for the St. Louis Storm.

“I wanted to die. Kill myself. You go through many emotions when it happens,” Webb said.